California
On-the-Road Histories
Victor Silverman and Laurie Glover

published 2012 • 5" x 9" • 390 pages • full-color photos • maps
ISBN 9781566568098 • paperback • $22.00 •

"Featuring excellent color (and some historic black-and-white) photography throughout, On-the-Road Histories: California is an invaluable historical guide for tourists and armchair scholars alike, as it does not gloss over the dark, violent, or bitter moments in California history. Chapters trace the evolution of the state and the people who call it home from its earliest human settlers to its thriving metropolises of the modern day. With references to special visitor resources and must-see sites, On-the-Road Histories: California is especially useful as a supplement to any vacationer who wants to personally experience the state's greatest highlights. Highly recommended."
—Midwest Book Review

A witty, expansive narrative that reveals the real story of the people and places that make up the Golden State.

From the European conquest to today’s economic crisis, Californians have experienced tumultuous growth and painful conflicts. Like the grinding of tectonic plates that has produced the state’s very landscape, these encounters, disputes, and transformations have continuously made and remade California. California: On-the-Road History doesn’t relate the cleaned-up tale of the California dream that school textbooks and the tourism commission tell. Rather it presents the sometimes bitter, sometimes triumphant history behind the California myth.

Included are recommended museums, state parks, and other attractions, alongside literary excerpts from local authors who give readers a sense of California in different eras.

Victor Silverman is an Emmy-winning filmmaker and historian. He teaches at Pomona College.

Laurie Glover is a poet and essayist. She teaches at UC Davis.

Interlink Books

Media Reviews

"Beginning with precolonial California and stretching through the present day, Silverman (history, Pomona Coll.) and Glover (writing, Univ. of California, Davis) cover a significant time span in a clearly organized and readable narrative. Chapters contain ample photographs, many in full color. One of this title's strongest points is its explicit mission to combat the whitewashing of California history; it does not shy away from difficult subjects or conflicts and continually emphasizes the role of minorities.
With much more history than classic travel guides like Fodor's or Frommer's but less depth than an academic monograph, this should appeal to readers of popular history, who will appreciate its wide range and respect for diversity."
—Library Journal

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